Ron Chesher is a solo artist hailing from central Virginia. Under the pseudonym of his project Undertow, Chesher’s EP Red Bird Soliloquy blends a unique mix of keys, strings, percussion, and other electronic influences that is not wholly definable under any singular genre. The genres cross together and work for better or worse but mostly the former. The beats are rhythmically complex and often have a dark, almost ominous tone, while the vocals are skiddish and delivered like a rap but somehow not. The production is strong and is another solid release from Go Forth Records. It’s ultimately a very unique listen that will have people either moving on or intrigued. The album kick things off with “Once Again” which presents us with an industrial beat, distant piano, and Chesher’s unique spoken word/rap until it all breaks down with an organ, piano, and guitar, dismissing the drums entirely. What’s most unique is when Chesher starts singing. It’s such a contrast to the beginning of the song but somehow he pulls it off. The highlight of the album for me was “Through It All” which is put together extremely well. All the elements seemed to work including his spoken poetry. Another decent song is “Scarcrossed” partially because it is such as departure from the rest of the album. That being said there was no climax and left me bored by the end. The spoken word is gone instead replaced by some sort of Chesher singing style. The album closes with the “The Feeling We Get” which is probably the darkest song on the album but is fitting. Ron Chesher will not appeal to everyone and often times I found myself confused as to what he was trying to achieve in the song but I one thing I can say is that he has created something original.

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